I was discussing this with my colleague Charlie Reid yesterday, and thought I’d pass it along, because it’s helpful to recognize the difference between training and working out.

In brief, “training” is when you’re preparing for an event of some sort.  “Working out” is exercising to stay in shape.  “Exercise” is the use of something.  You can “exercise” your brain, or your authority, etc.

More thorougly, training involves a long, detailed program aimed at achieving a very specific goal.  It is hard, and not a lot of fun most of the time.  Consider training just for one event all the time.  Every effort, every breath, aimed at one goal.  As a simple example, consider a powerlifter.  You’ll spend a lot of time lifting heavy weight.  You’ll spend a lot of time doing deadlift, bench press, and squat.  It’ll be most of what you do, in one form or another.  And there’s nothing wrong with that.  That’s what training is.

Working out, on the other hand, is just “exercising” to stay in shape, or have some effect on your body.  And there’s nothing wrong with this, either.  I just think that people get confused a lot about the difference between these two types of exercise, and what’s involved in them.

Most people (99%) will benefit fully in every way (weight loss, body composition change – more muscle, increased aerobic capacity, increased strength) by working out.  They don’t need a specific “plan.”  The don’t need “periodization” of their training schedule.  They don’t need to do the same thing all the time.  All they need to do is to go in and do something.

The body does adapt specifically to the demands it’s exposed to, so some planning is in order.  But consider this – how specific do you want to be if your goal is general fitness?  I don’t think you should get too specific.  Keep your training program general.

Part of the source of this confusion is that people think that it’s extraordinary for a person to have “ripped abs,” low bodyfat, or a lean muscular physique, when in fact, that’s every person’s most natural state!

We are all “designed” to be exceptional examples of movement.  We are all capable of moving powerfully through the world.  The myth that someone else is exceptionally fit is a myth held by the unfit.  I think one of the first things you need to do is to realize that this idea is a myth.  It isn’t reality.  In reality, every human being can do what every other can (within the dictates of genetic predispositions, of course).

Don’t sell yourself short.  If you want to get in shape, don’t look for a “training program.”  Go out and start moving.  Run, walk, jog, skip, hopscotch, crawl on all fours, climb trees, do somersaults, handstands, cartwheels…

Trust me.